


Stupid Decisions

by Windify



Series: The Katana Chronicles [4]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Doctor Donatello (TMNT), Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fever, Gen, Protective Siblings, Sibling Love, Sick Character, Sick Leonardo (TMNT)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28752429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windify/pseuds/Windify
Summary: “Dammit, Leonardo,” Don growled. “I can aready tell you have a high fever. You should’ve said something. What were you thinking?”The blue ninja blinked at him lazily. “Didn’t want to worry you ’bout nothing.”//AKA just Don and others taking care of feverish Leo
Relationships: Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael (TMNT), Leonardo & Splinter (TMNT)
Series: The Katana Chronicles [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099514
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55





	Stupid Decisions

**Author's Note:**

> Donatello’s point of view but still Leo-centric (I guess?)
> 
> Btw this was supposed to be a short one-shot, not longer than 1000 words. But well, my fingers slipped.

“I feel a little under the weather. I think I’m calling it a night for today.”

Normally, no one would even blink. Everyone was allowed to be sick, it just happened from time to time and there was no way to control it.

But right now, this was far from normal, because it was _Leonardo_ who had said it.

And that was enough to set Donatello into a full-blown panic mode.

You see, had it said him, Mikey, Raph or even Master Splinter, nothing would be extraordinary. But Leo was known for his tendency to hide he was injured. It didn’t matter if it was just a common cold, scratch or something broken, he would always says he is fine. Once he was bleeding all over the lair because he was shot three times, and he still claimed that it was “not a big deal” and that he “will be soon alright” and he had to calm Donatello down while the purple ninja stitched him up.

So yes, Donatello had all right to be worried when their eldest brother stopped practicing katas and went straight into his room.

“That was…” he started, not quiet sure how to continue.

“Weird? Worrying? Unexpected?” Mikey hopped down from pipes on the ceiling, putting the video game controller he was holding on a table. “Because yeah, that definitely was.”

“I wouldn’t say so, my sons,” Splinter hummed. “Leonardo has been looking tired lately, haven’t you noticed?”

Raphael shook his head. “No. Yes. I mean – duh, it’s Leo. Like, yeah, I noticed he’s meditatin’ a little more but that’s not strange. Ya know what I mean, right?”

“We do, Raph,” Don nodded.

“Maybe he’s dying,” suggested Michelangelo and Raph immediately smacked him. “Ow! Okay, not dying. But you have to admit, it’s not like him to just say he isn’t feeling well.”

Master Splinter stood up, rubbing the fur on his chin. “Maybe he finally understood it is not a good idea to hide he is in pain from us.”

The three turtles stared at him in complete silence for a few seconds before Raphael snorted. “Yeah, right. Even Mikey’s theory is more likely to be true.”

Splinter just _looked_ at Raphael and Donatello hurried up with his words to save his brother from lecture: “With all respect, Sensei, Leo is too stubborn to change his mind in this.”

The teacher sighed. Rationally, he knew they were right, but father could hope.

Donatello looked up where Leonardo’s room was, frowning. “Are we gonna do something about it, Sensei? Because Mikey is right, in a certain way.”

“I am?” he asked, surprised.

The inventor nodded. “Yes, because Leo’s ‘under the wheather’ is a lot more different than ours.”

“You are right as always, my son.” Splinter put his hand on Don’s shoulder, smiling slightly at him. “But there is not much we can do right now. We have to trust that Leonardo will come to us, sooner or later.”

Don pressed his lips together. He was rightfully worried, knowing first hand just how much Leo could take before admitting something is wrong. He was an inventor, a mechanic and a family doctor. He fixed things and patched up their injuries. He didn’t like not knowing and not being able to repair something, it was making him nervous.

“I hope he will,” Don mumled, unsure. But as Sensei said, there was nothing they could do apart from waiting.

He sighed. Sometimes he hated that Leo was the leader, especially when it meant he will suffer in silence.

~~~

You know, had Donatello not been so worried about Leonardo, he would kick yourself for being so stupid and not insisting on checking on the eldest turtle.

Maybe if he did examine his brother, they wouldn’t be here righ now.

They were woken in the middle of the night by a loud splash followed by so uncharacteristic startled yelp that had all of them instantly out of their beds, just so they could find Leonardo crawling out of the pool in the middle of the lair, one sword in hand.

“Leo! Are you okay?” Donatello jumped right next to him, helping him out of the water. He hissed when they touched, because although his brother just bathed in the cold river water, his skin was hot. Too hot. “What the shell, Leo? You’re burning up!”

“I missed the bridge,” he mumlbed, shivering. “Didn’t see it.”

As if the crash itself wasn’t alarming enough. Leonardo could walk around the lair blind – he had walked around the lair blind and not once had he even tripped. _And_ now he even let his brothers take his katanas from him.

“Dammit, Leonardo,” Don growled. “I can aready tell you have a high fever. You should’ve said something. What were you _thinking_?”

The blue ninja blinked at him lazily. “Didn’t want to worry you ’bout nothing.”

Raphael groaned. “You did a really good job with this, Fearless. Don looks like he’s about to pass out from stress.”

Suddenly, Leo was staring at him, eyes wide open and full of regret and hurt. “’m so sorry, little brother.”

“Great job, Raph, now Leo has the self-hatred face,” commented Mikey. The two turtles looked at each other, probably ready to start an argument, but Donatello didn’t pay them any attention.

“Lab, Leonardo. Now,” Don ordered uncompromisingly. He helped Leo on his feet and together with their Sensei walked him into his lab. Splinter sat him on a chair, soothingly stroking Leo’s shell.

“For a leader, you can make some stupid decisions, Leonardo,” scolded him Donatello while taking his temperature.

Michelangelo laughed. “Wow, our eldest brother really made Don angry.”

“What gave him away, the cursing or the full name?” Raphael asked sarcastically, putting one hand on Mikey’s shoulder and leaning against his younger brother.

“Guys, cut it out. I know you’re nervous, but be serious.” Don looked at the thermometer in his hand, nearly choking on nothing when the device showed 87 °F. Turning to the med cabinet, he franticly started digging through the meds. “Leo, I’d appreciate it if you could be honest with me and tell me if you don’t have some injury you forgot to tell us about?”

When there was no answer, he looked up just in time to see Master Splinter grab Leonardo’s chin, forcing him to open up his unfocused eyes and look at the Master. “Leonardo, do not fall asleep. Speak, my son.”

“I…” he started, trailing off. “I don’t… huh?”

With fever that high, it was a surprise he was even still awake, but they had to keep him that way. Donatello looked at Raph pleadingly, hoping he will understand. And he did.

Raph forced his way to Leonardo, gently shoving Sensei away. “Sorry for this, bro,” he muttered, slaping him hard across his face. Leo flinched, squealing, but Raph held him firmly. “ _Think_ , Fearless. Any injuries?”

Leonardo moaned. “No. You could’ve ask. Tha’ was not nec’ssary…”

“Trust me, I’m not happy about this either,” Raph assured him. “But ya got yourself into this. Your fault.”

“So no injuries?” Don asked again, and when the three other turtles nodded, he take their words. That hopefully outed infection of the game. “Okay. Here, take this. It should reduce the fever.” He handed Leonardo two pills and brought a water glass to his lips (he made sure it was water and not something not potable).

Splinter whipped his tail, brows puckered. “Fever?”

“D’ I have to?” whined Leo. He scratched his neck, coughing. It wasn’t a nice sound, he was rasping like a steamroller, actually. “Hurts.”

_Deep breaths, Donatello. Count to ten. Deep breaths._ “That’s what you get for telling me exactly _nothing_. Swallow it.” He shot him the deadliest look he managed to do and Leonardo promptly threw the pill into his mouth and washed them down with the water. “And yes, father. This moron has a fever. His temperature is 87 °F. Ours normal si about 80 °F so I’m not going to lie, it’s far from ideal. It’s a wonder he’s still conscious, or that he managed to even go from his room to the living room.”

“But…” Mikey hesitated. He shifted his weigh nervously. Donatello understood him. It was rare to see their big brother so weak and sick. “But he’ll be okay, right? It’s Leo. He has to be.”

“Course I’ll,” coughed Leo, but the voice crack and the fact he had to lean against Raph were kind of destroying his point.

Michelangelo looked at the doctor. Donatello licked his lips. “As you said, Mikey, we’re talking about Leonardo. He’ll be okay, he just needs rest, medication and he has to stay hydrated.” There wasn’t much he could do. It wasn’t like they could go to a _real_ doctor or something.

But as long as Leonardo actually cooperated and listened, he should be alright.

“I think he was hallucinating earlier,” Don mumbled, looking at the eldest turtle with a thoughtful expression. “It’d explain the raised katana. The water must have shocked him in a certain way. Am I wrong, Leo?”

“Thought I heard som’thing,” he admitted. “I had to… check it out.”

“Idiot,” growled Raphael. But he looked just as worried as the rest of their little family, and well, the concern was showing enough in his eyes and tone.

Donatello sighed, coming closer. “We should move you to bed, it’ll be better.”

Leonardo nodded. He stood up, but his legs were weak and buckled under his own weight. Luckily, Raph and Don managed to catch him before he could hit the ground. “Gotcha, Leo,” said Raph softly.

They helped him walk, taking careful, small steps towards Leonardo’s bedroom. It was mostly the two dragging him, Leonardo being too weak to walk on his own which supported Don’s theory about the eldes hallucinating earlier. The fever was tiring him, something they all could see. They heard Leo’s slow, heavy breathing, heard how raspy his voice was.

Leonardo wasn’t even protesting about them helping him, which meant he knew it was bad.

They nearly made it to his room before Leo suddenly gasped. His muscles tensed and he froze, dully staring ahead. “Don,” he managed to breath out, “I think… ’m gonna throw up.”

“No.” Donatello shook his head. “No, Leo, you can’t.” He was begging and ordering at the same time. But Leo had to keep the medication in his body. “You can hold it, I know you can. For us?”

For a while, it looked like it would work. After all, even in this condition, Leo’s first instinct was to make sure his brothers were all right. Appealing on his ‘protective elder brother’ side was worth a shot.

But apparently, Leo’s own body was as stubborn as his mind.

The eldest flinched. He used all of his strength to break free from their grip, taking a clumsy step forward before throwing up. Luckily Mikey, who was following them and had heard the conversation, managed to shove a bucket under him.

Raph grasped Leo’s arm, supporting him, and Splinter came from behind, drawing circles on Leo’s shell with his fingers. “It’s alrigh, my son.”

When he was done, Leo coughed and tried to straighten up, steadying himself with Raph’s help. “Sorry,” he coughed. “Didn’t mean –”

The red turtle growled. He was trying to look stoic but was failing as much as Leo. “Leo, shut up. That you’re sick doesn’t mean I don’t wanna punch ya for absurd apologies.”

“I’ll go throw it away,” whispered Mikey. He ran away in hurry, carefully holding the bucket.

Donatello slid his hand over his face, breathing deeply. “I’ll go for another pills. Just – get him to the bed, please.”

Just like Mikey, he run away swiftly. He allowed himself a few seconds of silence in the darkness and seclusion of his lab, just to breath and calm down. He had to get a good grip on himself, because Leo’s well-being depended on his skills. He grabbed the meds, looking at them in desperation. He just hoped Leo will be able to keep them down this time. Otherwise they would need to figure out something else and Donatello did not wanted to improvise with IV.

Even though Donatello still wasn’t sure how Leo managed to get sick, he guessed that the fever was caused by Leo’s daily rooftop-runs. After all, his brother didn’t know when to stop and there was a big storm two days before. Now when he thought about it, Don should have realized it sooner.

Don moaned. If only their brother cared about his own health as much as he cared about theirs, that would make Don’s work so much easier.

When he walked into Leo’s room few minutes later, he saw his brother lying on his bed and glaring at Raph and Splinter. Those two were holding him down, preventing him from getting up. With Leo’s non-existent strength it wasn’t even much of a fight.

“What happened?” Don asked. Leonardo had agreed on listening to him, so why was he resisting?

“The fever is making him see something that is not here,” Master Splinter answered. Well, hallucinations made sense. And Leo looked like he was calming down, anyway.

“Where’s Mikey?” the blue ninja mumlbed tiredly, his eyes roving over all of them.

“I’m not sure,” Don admitted. “But he’s in the lair. Probably just trying to occupy himself.” And Donatello didn’t blame him. Michelangelo looked lost and scared, and for now it was better if he kept the distance. Although Don knew he would come to check on Leo later, when he will be asleep so he doesn’t have to see him struggle.

“He okay?”

Raph rolled his eyes. “The only turtle not okay is you, big bro.”

But Leonardo still moved his head so he could look at their father, a plea in his eyes. The rat sighed but nodded. “Rest, my son. And listen to your brothers,” he added. Splinter squeezed Leo’s shoulder for the last time before he left to find Mikey.

Donatello passed Raphael the meds. Without even blinking, Raph took them and handed them to Leo, holding a water glass by his lips. He didn’t stop until Leo drank the whole glass, knowing how easily one could dehydrate. 

The inventor finally returned to his brother, holding a wet cloth in his hands. Once he was sure that Leo laid still, he put the cloth on his forehead. “Cold compress,” Don explained when Leo hissed, scowling at how hot his skin was. “It should help reduce the fever.”

The eldest slightly shifted. “It’s cool.”

“Good point, Fearless,” snickered Raph. His voice held just a little of his usual sarcastic tone. “Maybe that’s why it’s called ‘cold compress.’”

“Good to… know you re’lly are okay.” Leo’s face twisted in a fit of hacking coughing, but nevertheless he was smiling. “When you say… things like ’tat.”

Raph crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, well, I’d be rather if you’re okay. Ya sound like you’re dying.”

“Thanks.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Don stepped back. “You should rest, Leo. I’ll bring you another glass of water but please, try to sleep.”

“You got it, doctor Donnie.” Leo smiled at him, burrying deep into the covers and closing his eyes.

The two brothers looked at each other, silently counting. Leonardo was asleep before they even walked out of the room, and when they did, they closed the door after them silently.

Both of them exhaled deeply. “And he calls me reckless,” Raph muttered. “Stupid. Will he be okay?”

Don laughed quietly, suddenly feeling very exhausted. “Don’t worry, Raph. He’s too stubborn to be defeated by fever.”

The red ninja chuckled. “Huh, true. Now come on, you should sleep, too.”

“But –”

“I’ll bring him the water,” Raph assured him. “You’ve done enough already. Go to bed, Donnie.”

He sighed, knowing there was no point in this argument. After all, the only thing he could do now was to wait until his brother was feeling better. “Okay. Good nigh, Raph.”

“Nigh, doctor.”

Don glanced at him. “Call me doctor one more time and Leo won’t bet he only patient tonight.”

He heard his laugh while he walked away, and Don smiled for himelf.

Yeah, he was sure they all will be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> Doctor: “You shouldn’t drink coffee in your condition.”  
> Me: *nods while drinking double espresso*
> 
> Yeah, I listen the doctors maybe the same as Leo. Whoops.
> 
> Also I had already figured out like 80 % of a plot for a chapter story without even thinking about it, double whoops. Should I write it?


End file.
